Date: Wed, 9 May 2012 15:14:22 +0100
From: Mikki
Subject: Love in the Army Chapter 4 (Revised)
This story is copyrighted to myself its writer and cannot be copied in any
way shape or form without my express written permission. This story is
fiction and any resemblance to persons or events are purely
coincidental. If you are underage or don't like stories of a homosexual
nature please leave now otherwise please enjoy the story.
I welcome comments please send them to Mikkiwriter@gmail.com
Ben and Tom were sat at home enjoying some time together. Tom has taken
some well needed leave and Ben was due to take up a job at a local hospital
in a couple of weeks. Ben and Tom were noticing that their adopted son Jon
has recently become very quiet and reserved. Ben was worrying that maybe he
was being bullied at school.
Jon was sat on a wall in the schoolyard when Greg Bonner came up behind him
and pushed him off the wall and said "there you go bum boy" and walked away
laughing.
Jon fell onto the concrete with a thud and he scraped his leg on the wall
as he fell. Jon picked himself up and walked off. Greg followed Jon and
jumped him and pinned him against the wall and pulls Jon's trousers
down. Jon tried to get away but Greg held him and laughed and said "I hate
benders and you are one, so your life is going to be hell. I will make sure
of that." He then punched Jon in the stomach and kicked him, as Jon went
down in agony.
A few other boys were laughing as Jon collapsed in pain and one said "got
to love these bum boys" and walked off leaving Jon lying there. Jon was
crying as he stood up and pulled his trousers back up.
Jon arrived home later and was very quiet. Ben and Tom had tried to talk to
him but got nowhere.
The next morning
Tom had returned to work and had to be at HQ, so he had left early. Ben
dropped Jon off at school, as usual, and was standing talking to Lisa
Mills, Alex's wife, when he looked into the yard where he saw Jon standing
on his own.
Ben said to Lisa "you know I am really worried about Jon. He isn't his
usual bubbly self lately."
"Yeah he seems very quiet. I noticed that he is all alone in the yard. No
one is bothering with him" Lisa said.
Jon walked out of Ben's view. Just then Greg Bonner, and his two friends
Paul Harris and Daniel Porter, walked up to Jon and kicked him to the
ground. Jon tried to get up but Greg grabbed him and led him out of
sight. Greg said "looks like the bender likes being roughed up." Laughing,
Greg kicked Jon to the ground and said "what a bent bastard. Doesn't even
fight back." Daniel and Paul both laughed and said "oh look, he has a
boner."
Greg laughed and grabbed hold of Jon and pulled his trousers down
again. Jon was crying. Paul and Daniel laughed and said "oh poor bender"
and walked away laughing.
Just then Ben noticed that Jon had gone and said "I don't know what to do
for the best with him. Tom and I tried to talk to him last night, but he
just sat there and said nothing."
"Oh Ben he is growing up. Teenagers don't like talking to their parents"
Lisa said
Jon got up and pulled his trousers back up. Greg grabbed him again and
pinned him up against the wall and said "say anything about this bender and
you will die." Jon pushed Greg and ran around the building, but as he did
Greg caught him and kicked him to the ground.
Ben spotted the confrontation and went to go over, but decided not
to. Instead he said to Lisa "sorry Lisa, I have to go see you soon."
Lisa smiled, "ok Ben I will see you soon" as Ben walked away.
Ben got home shortly after and phoned the school.
The school claims to have a zero tolerance of bullying policy, so Ben
thought a phone call to the head teacher might help.
Head Teacher Jenny Dobson was in her office when the secretary knocked on
the door and said "Mr Andrews Rees on the phone for you."
"Ok, thank you Julie" Jenny replied.
"Good morning, Mr Andrews Rees. What can I do for you?" Jenny replied.
"Good morning, Mrs Dobson. I am Jon Taylor's, in class 3b, dad I have been
worried about him lately. He seems to have gone very quiet and
withdrawn. Well to cut a long story short, this morning after I dropped Jon
off, I spoke to a friend outside the school yard and saw my son being
kicked to the ground by another pupil. As you can imagine, I am not very
happy that a school that claims to have a zero tolerance to bullying has
allowed this to happen" Ben said firmly.
"Umm Mr Andrews, I can assure you I have no idea that Jon has been a victim
of bullying of any kind while at school, but I promise you a full
investigation will be launched and if he has been bullied, I can assure you
the bully will be dealt with appropriately" Jenny said.
"Well Mrs Dobson, I will leave it in your hands, but I warn you, if I am
not happy with the safety of my son, I will withdraw him from the
school. He has been through enough in his young life to be bullied like
this" Ben said.
"Mr. Andrews Rees, I promise you I will do everything in my power to make
sure Jon is safe in this school" Jenny said.
Jenny was not happy since taking the headship of this school 4 years
ago. She hoped that she had stamped out the bullying culture.
Jenny was looking out of her window, when she spotted Jon standing
nearby. She watched for a couple of minutes, when suddenly she saw Greg
Bonner walk up to Jon and punch him in the stomach. She knew then that it
was Greg who was bullying Jon and set about sorting the problem.
Jenny goes out into the outer office and picks out Greg's file from the
filling cabinet.
Alice Bonner was just finishing her washing up when the phone rang.
"Hello" Alice said.
"Is this Mrs. Bonner?" Jenny asked.
"Yes, who is this?" Alice replied.
"Good morning, Mrs Bonner. This is Jenny Dobson, the head teacher of
Brookdale School. I need you to come to the school for a meeting to
discuss your son's recent behaviour" Jenny replied.
"Umm, well of course. When?" Alice replied.
"How about 1 o' clock today?" Jenny replied.
"Yeah, sure. Can I ask what's going on?" Alice said.
"Your son has been suspected of bullying another young lad, Mrs Bonner, and
so this is serious as we have a zero tolerance to bullying at Brookdale"
Jenny replied.
"Oh ok, I will try and get my husband to come as well" Alice replied
shocked.
"Ok Mrs Bonner, I will see you at 1 o clock" Jenny said.
"Ok Mrs Dobson" Alice replied.
Alice rang off and sat down and felt tears in her eyes. She was also angry
as she was bullied when she was in school and thought she had brought up
Greg differently.
Sgt Tim Bonner was with his unit exercising when his mobile went off. He
was equally shell shocked when Alice told him and said "I will speak to
Major Lewis and get back to you."
Tim spoke to Daffyd, who agreed he needed to go with Alice, and allowed Tim
time off to attend.
Jenny had already spoken to Jon, who at first denied anything was wrong,
but after Jenny told him what she had seen and what Ben had told her, he
changed him mind and told her everything.
Jenny was disgusted what she had heard, and felt sorry for Jon knowing his
story. She promised Jon that things will change for the better and told Jon
to say nothing to Greg.
The schools lunch break was at 12, as usual and Jon was sat in the yard
away from the other boys. Greg spotted Jon and walked over and said "oh,
look if it isn't the bum boy." Greg kicked Jon sending his lunchbox
flying. Greg then punched Jon. Just then a teaching assistant appeared and
said "Greg Bonner, what do you think you are doing? Come here."
Greg was taken to Jenny's office by the teaching assistant.
Jenny told the teaching assistant to take Greg to the classroom and wait
there with him until she called for him.
1pm
Tim and Alice Bonner were sat outside Mrs Dobson's office. Jenny opened the
door and said "Mr. and Mrs Bonner, please come in and please take a seat."
"Since my conversation with you this morning, I have spoken to Jon Taylor,
the young lad that your son has been bullying, and I am afraid that the
bullying is a little more intense than I first thought" Jenny said.
Tim recognised Jon's name straight away and said "Can I ask, is this Tom
Rees son we are talking about?"
"Well, I spoke to Ben Andrews Rees, his dad, earlier and he wasn't very
happy" Jenny said.
Thing is, Mrs. Dobson, I have worked with both Tom Rees and Ben Andrews
Rees and they are friends of mine and I don't want to believe my son would
bully Jon. I don't know what to say" Tim said.
"Well the bullying has been going on for a few weeks. It started off with
name calling and has progressed to physical assaults, one of which I
witnessed this morning from this window. Greg was caught in the act at
lunchtime today by a teaching assistant and is now being supervised by that
teacher assistant " Jenny said.
"Oh, poor Jon" Alice said.
"Yeah, all that lad has been through and our idiot of a son has decided to
make things worse for him" Tim said.
"Well, Mr and Mrs Bonner, as I explained to your wife on the phone earlier
we have a zero tolerance policy here at Brookdale and as a result we will
suspending Greg for two weeks and will review his future at this school in
due course" Jenny said.
Greg was summoned to the head's office.
Greg arrived to see his angry parents sat there. Tim stood up and said
"thank you, Mrs Dobson, for bringing our sons behaviour to our attention
and I will assure you we will sort it out in due course."
Tim and Alice were gutted that their son would behave like they were told
he had. They knew that his behaviour could ruin a long standing friendship
between Tim and Tom and Ben.
Tim said, "I am ashamed of you Greg. How you could treat someone like you
did? I have no idea especially the son of two of my closest friends."
Greg put his head down and didn't reply.
Alice was very quiet on the drive back to the army quarters where they
live.
"Well, young man, I am waiting for your excuse?" Tim said standing in front
of Greg.
"He is a fag, dad" Greg replied.
Tim has never lifted a hand to his son, but that comment made him angry and
he grabbed Greg and shook him and said "you know son, I don't know where
you got that from but you will not use that word in this house. Do I make
myself clear? I will not tolerate such hatred."
"Jon is the son of two of my best friends. You know both of them and I
cannot believe you thought you would get away with this. Well, young man,
you are grounded for a month. You will forfeit your laptop and game console
for three months and your mobile for a month and that is just for a start"
Tim said.
Alice said, "you know son, I agree with your dad on this. I cannot believe
a son of mine would be so nasty. Jon has been through hell in his young
life. You have had it easy compared to that young lad."
Tim went up to Greg's room and removed the laptop and the games console and
then went back downstairs and said "mobile?"
Greg handed Tim his mobile.
"You will get these back when you learn to behave, young man. I am so
disgusted by your behaviour" Tim said.
"Now get out of my sight" Tim said.
Alice said, "I cannot get over this. What on earth did he think he was
doing?"
"No idea, but I don't know what I am going to do about this" Tim said.
"Yeah it is a difficult situation, especially as we know his parents so
well. I can't believe this. I really can't" Alice said crying.
Tim took hold of Alice and said "you know at this moment in time I hate
him. I can't believe a son of mine would do such disgusting things to
anyone let alone a vulnerable young lad like Jon. That boy has been so much
in his life and now he has had to put up with Greg being a complete bastard
to him."
"I need to talk to Tom and Ben" Tim said.
"Yeah that is true. I don't know what they will think when they find out it
was our son who bullied Jon" Alice replied.
Tom was shocked when Ben told him what he had seen in the yard. He was
planning on being home when Jon got home later for a chat with his son.
Tom was in his office when Todd buzzed "Tom, Tim Bonner on line 1 for you."
"Hi Tim, what can I do for you?" Tom replied.
"Afternoon Sir. I take it from your cheerful reply you haven't heard then?"
Tim said.
"Umm heard what?" Tom asked.
"About my idiot of a son, Greg, bullying your son" Tim said.
"Oh, hell no mate. I didn't know it was Greg" Tom said.
"First of all, Tom, let me apologise for his behaviour. He has let me and
his mum down badly, Tom. You know that he didn't get his hateful comments
from me mate. You two are my best friends and I hope this wouldn't affect
out friendships" Tim said.
"Tim don't worry. Kids can do things we don't understand sometimes" Tom
said.
"Yeah but most of those come from their parents and both Alice and I are
disgusted by his behaviour and I really don't know what to do about it
mate. I am loss for words when Mrs. Dobson told us what he had been up to,
I was shocked" Tim said.
"Well to be honest mate, at this moment in time Ben and I are in the
dark. We are going to talk to Jon later and find out the full story" Tom
said.
"Yeah, well I know this much, my idiot of a son will be apologising to Jon
and you both without a doubt" Tim said.
"Don't be too harsh of him, mate. Kids will be kids" Tom said.
"Well, he has been grounded and had his laptop, mobile, and games console
removed so maybe he will realise that his behaviour is totally
unacceptable. He is just lucky he doesn't have my dad because he would be
suffering with a sore arse now" Tim said.
"Yeah my grandfather was like that. Hit first, questions later" Tom said
laughing.
"Anyway, Tom, I will let you get on. I had to speak to you, mate" Tim said.
"Yeah, thanks Tim. And has I said, don't blame yourself, ok? These things
happen" Tom said.
"Ok mate, speaks soon" Tim said.
"Yeah, we will" Tom said.
Tom rang off and rang Ben.
"Hi" Ben said.
"Hey sexy" Tom replied.
Ben laughed and said "what you want?" laughing.
"Just had Tim Bonner on the phone. It was his son Greg who was bullying Jon
and he is gutted" Tom said.
"Oh shit. I knew I recognised that boy who hit Jon this morning" Ben said.
"Yeah well the school has suspended him for two weeks and Tim has grounded
him" Tom said.
"Wow so they do have a zero tolerance policy then?" Ben said.
"Looks that way babe" Tom said.
"So, do we know why Greg has been doing this babe?" Ben enquired.
"Not really, but Tim said it was homophobic abuse as well as physical abuse
babes" Tom said.
"Oh fuck" Ben said.
"Yeah, and to say Tim and Alice are gobsmacked would be the understatement
of the year" Tom said.
"Anyway, I will be home soon and we need to sit down with Jon tonight and
talk to him and ask him why he never told us what was going on" Tom said.
Tom arrived home from the barracks just before 2 and set about preparing
for a nice tea for his son. Jon arrived just after 3. Tom walked into the
lounge to see his son and said "hi Jon."
Jon smiled and said "hi Dad."
Tom said "come here," and Jon ran to his dad and hugged him with tears
rolling down his face. Tom kissed Jon on the head and said "why didn't you
tell us?"
"I couldn't, dad. I didn't want you to think I was a wimp" Jon said.
Ben walked in and smiled and said "hey we would never think you are a wimp
son."
Jon ran into Ben's arms and said "I am sorry."
"Hey, you haven't done anything wrong" Ben said.
Tom said "come on, and led Jon into the dining room where Tom had prepared
cupcakes and other goodies for Jon.
Jon was taken aback, but loved the attention he was getting from his two
dads. Jon has always felt special ever since he moved in with Tom and
Ben. And until this bullying started, he never really thought of them as
gay. They were just daddy Tom and daddy Ben to him.
A couple of days later
Tom and Ben were at home with Jon preparing for a visit from Tim and Alice
Bonner and their bullying son, Greg. Jon was worried about seeing Greg
again. Tom and Ben knew that Jon was getting nervous but they reassured
their son that no harm would come to him.
Tim and Alice have come down on Greg hard. He will not be returning to
Brookdale School, but will be attending a local private school called
Cheadle House. Tim decided that Greg would need to prove to his parents
that he deserved their trust, so changing schools was one way where he can
prove it. Greg hated the idea of going to the posh boys' school as he calls
it.
Tim and Alice have also stopped Greg bothering with two of his friends, who
they suspected were part of the reason he gone off the rails. He still
hasn't had his mobile returned or his laptop and game console. However,
Greg is allotted two hours every night supervised computer access for
homework.
Now, today was another step to get back into his parents good books. He was
to apologise to both Jon and his parents, Tom and Ben, for his terrible
behaviour. Greg has realised since all this blew up that what he did was
totally wrong. He also realised that Jon was quiet, not because he is gay,
but he has had so much shit happen to him in his life that he didn't want
to get close to anyone, in case shit happened to them.
The Bonners arrived at Tom and Ben's house and Tim said "now, before we go
in let me tell you young man any shit coming out of your mouth and I will
make you wish you weren't born."
Jon was sat nervously in the lounge when the doorbell went.
Tom walked over to the door to see Sgt Tim Bonner, his wife Alice, and his
son Greg standing there. Tom smiled and said "hi come on in."
Ben walked out of the kitchen and said "hi guys."
"Hi Ben" Tim said.
Tim walked over to Jon and said "how are you Jon?"
"Yeah, I am ok. Thanks, Mr Bonner" Jon replied politely.
Tim laughed and said "I don't see my dad here. Call me Tim."
Jon smiled and both and Ben laughed.
Tim signalled for Greg to come over. He then said "my idiot of a son has
something to say to you, Jon."
Greg nervously walked over and said "Jon, I am sorry for being a total
asshole and being a nasty bully to you."
Jon just looked at Greg, got up and walked off out of the room.
Ben looked at Tom, who just shrugged his shoulders. Tom went behind Jon
into the kitchen and saw Jon sat outside on the patio, crying. Tom walked
outside and put his hand on Jon's shoulder and said "come on, it is over."
Jon got up and into Tom's arms and said "I love you, Tom."
"And I love you, Jon" Tom said with tears rolling down his face.
Greg was stood on the back door watching Jon embrace his dad. He walked
over and said "seriously mate, I am so sorry about the way I treated you"
Jon looked at Greg and said "well don't expect me to feel sorry for you
because you got caught, because I couldn't care less."
Greg said "no, I don't expect you to forgive me but please at least accept
my feeble excuse of an apology."
Tom stood there as the two teenagers stared at each other. Jon then
surprised Tom when he walked over to Greg and hugged him and said "you
really hurt me, but I cannot hate anyone, so I forgive you but promise me
one thing that you will never bully anyone again."
Greg said "I promise you, I won't."
Jon smiled and kicked a nearby football to Greg and the two lads started to
play in the back garden. Tom went back in and said "well they are having a
kick about, so I think they have sorted that out."
Tim said "you know since this has happened, it has made Alice and me
realise on how much you two mean to us. It really did make us think, what
the hell we would do without you two in our lives."
Ben smiled and said "Tim, you and Alice have supported Tom and me through a
lot of hard times. When I was injured a few years ago Alice was there to
support Tom."
"Yeah, and you and Tom were there when I got injured as well for Alice and
Greg, which is why I couldn't understand why Greg would do such a thing to
your son" Tim replied.
"Well that's all history now, Tim. We need to move on and get our
friendship back on track. We always knew we would sort this problem out
between ourselves. That's the way we army people are" Tom said.
"Yeah, stubborn as well" Alice said smiling.
"Yeah, we are trained to be stubborn" Ben said smiling.
Jon kicked the ball and it bounced and hit Greg between the legs. Greg
crashed to the ground in agony and Jon ran to help him up and said "shit, I
am sorry."
Greg laughed and said "not to worry, it is something that happens."
Greg smiled and said "Jon, don't panic. I am fine, just a bit
winded. That's all these things happen. It's not the first time I have been
hit in the balls and probably won't be the last."
Greg dusted himself down and sat on the nearby chair for a little while,
then grabbed the ball and started to kick it around again. The two
teenagers started to get on well. Greg ran past Jon with the ball but
slipped on the wet grass and crashed into a nearby wall. Greg groaned in
pain, and Jon ran into the house and called Tom.
Tom came out to see Greg holding his leg screaming in pain. Tom ran to him
and said "what happened?"
Greg said "I was running with the ball and slipped on the wet grass and hit
this wall and I heard a crack"
Tom shouted to Jon "get Tim out here"
Jon went in and told Tim what had happened. Tim ran out to see Tom lifting
his son up and carrying him back into the house. "I think he has broken
something."
"Oh hell, we need to get him to the hospital" Tim said.
Tim and Alice rushed their teenage son to the local accident and emergency
dept. followed by Tom Ben and Jon.
The hospital x-rayed Greg and confirmed that he had broken a bone in his
ankle. Jon was upset as he felt it was his fault. If he hadn't started to
kick a ball round that Greg wouldn't have broken his ankle.
However Greg blamed himself, saying if he hadn't been trying to show off to
Jon, he would have realised the wall was there.
Tim laughed and said "you know boys, it is no one's fault. These things
happen."
A few weeks later
Tim Bonner had relented and has, after talking to Mrs Dobson, allowed Greg
back to Brookdale School. Greg knew he had to behave or his dad would come
down on him like a ton of bricks, and since his accident at Tom's house,
Greg had become friends with his victim, Jon. Greg's other friends who
bullied Jon was also dealt with by the school and one of them, Paul, had
recently moved away from the area when his dad was transferred to another
base. Both Greg and the other boy Daniel were made to apologise to Jon in
front of the whole school.
Daniel's parents were equally disgusted by their sons' behaviour and had
written a letter of apology to Tom and Ben.
Colonel Tom Rees was asked by Brookdale School to do a presentation at the
schools parents evening.
Jenny Dobson was on the stage in the school hall and said "ladies and
gentlemen, thank you for coming this evening."
"This school has a zero tolerance policy on bullying and recently we put
this into action when a young man was brutally bullied at the
school". Jenny said.
"This young man has had a lot of trauma in his young life including his dad
dying when he was 2, his uncle being killed in action when he was 5, and
more recently losing his mum and grandmother is an horrific car
accident. This young man has been brought up right by his uncle at first,
and then by his uncle's best friend, who I now ask to join me up here to
present the award. Ladies and Gentlemen, Colonel Tom Rees
Tom walked up the steps and walked over to the microphone and said "thank
you, Mrs Dobson. I have had the pleasure of knowing Jon since he was born,
and like Mrs. Dobson has said, he has had a lot of upheaval in his
life. But since he has lived with my partner, Ben and I, he has grown up to
be a fine young man. So ladies and gentlemen, it is with great pleasure and
pride that I award the Brookdale pupil of the year award to Jon Taylor."
Jon was gobsmacked and looked at Ben and Rhys who had come to see him
collect the award. Both men were smiling and Rhys said "go on, they are
waiting."
Jon walked up as the pupils stood up and clapped, Greg Bonner stood with
the rest of the pupil's clapping.
Jon walked up the steps and went over to the microphone and took hold of
the cup which Tom handed him with a hug.
Jon said "thank you, I would like to dedicate this to my mum, dad, uncle
Matthew, and my Gran."
Tom was trying hard to hold back his tears
"I also want to thank Uncle Rhys, Uncle Shaun, and most of all my two dads
Tom and Ben, who without their support I would have never made it" Jon
said.
Tom was now crying and so were Rhys and Ben.
Jon walked over and hugged Tom, and Tom led his son off the stage and they
sat down as other pupils were given awards.
Greg Bonner walked up to the microphone, towards the end of the evening,
and said "sorry to disturb the evening, but I need to say something. I was
one of the boys who bullied Jon earlier this term and I have realised what
I did was totally wrong. Not only did I hurt Jon but also my parents and
their friends Tom and Ben. With my totally unacceptable behaviour, I also
let the school down badly, which is why I need to say this. I apologise to
Jon, Tom, Ben, and most of all to my parents and to Mrs Dobson".
Greg walked away.
Jon looked at Ben and said "wow I didn't expect that."
Tom laughed and said "yeah, well you said he has changed a lot recently."
"Yeah, he has seemed to have calmed down a lot" Jon said.
Tim and Alice were equally shocked, as they thought they had seen the end
of the bullying incident, but started to realise that this would never
really go away.
A few weeks later
Tom and Ben and Jon were heading up the motorway again towards
Birmingham. They arrived at the beautiful manor house were the civil
partnership ceremony between Rhys Taylor and Shaun Weston was taking place.
"Wow, this place is beautiful" Ben said.
"Sure is. Then so was the place we got hitched" Tom replied.
"Yeah, I remember it well" Ben said laughing.
"Yes, like it was yesterday" Toms aid smiling.
Tom pulled his brand new Lexus outside the manor house and was met by
Shaun's mum.
"Good morning, Tom. You made it ok then?" Alison said.
"Yes, thank you Alison. Where is Rhys?" Tom asked.
"He is in the marquee, panicking as usual" Alison said laughing.
"Ok, leave him to me, I will soon calm him down" Tom said.
"Where is Shaun, by the way?" Tom asked.
"Oh, he is with Gary in the suite upstairs keeping him out of the way"
Alison said laughing.
"That's good then. We did the same on our wedding day. They kept us apart,
but there again, this swine was hiding a secret from me" Tom said, laughing
putting his arm round Ben.
"Yeah, I remember. Rhys told me that" Alison said.
"But look at you two now. If Shaun and Rhys are as happy as you two are in
the years to come, I will be really happy" Alison said.
"I am sure they will be right duty calls" Tom said laughing.
"Ok Tom, I will catch you later"
Tom walked into the marquee to see Rhys parading up and down. Tom walked
over and grabbed him and said "come with me."
Tom walked with his arm round Rhys to the nearby lake and said, "now Rhys I
want you to listen to me. In the last few years, I have got to know you
well and I want you to know I love you as my brother. And I know today is
going to be hard for you, but for yours and Shaun's sake, you have to cheer
up because we both know that Matthew, Kath, and your mum Julie would be so
proud of you today."
Rhys started to cry and said "yeah, you are right."
"Now, young man, time for you to greet your guest with that cheeky smile I
have grown to love" Tom said smiling.
"ok" Rhys said smiling.
Soon Rhys was meeting all the guests. Among the guests were Lucy and Daniel
Rees, Colonel Bradley Evans, and Major Daffyd Lewis, who both Rhys and
Shaun had got to know well, while Daffyd was recovering in hospital. Harry
Andrews and his husband to be, Lee Wilson arrived next. Tim and Alice
Bonner, again Rhys had nursed Tim in hospital. Charge Nurse Catherine
McDonald and her husband, Brian, were next to arrive. Staff nurse Andrew
Harrison and his fiancée, Helen, arrived next.
Major Alex Mills and his wife Lisa arrived shortly afterward.
Rhys and Tom were standing at the front as "Love Changes Everything"
played.
Tom smiled as he realised that Rhys and Shaun had picked the same song he
had had at his ceremony.
The ceremony was over and the two best men signed the register, just like
at Tom and Bens.
Tom stood up and called for quiet. Ladies and gentlemen, I want to thank
you all for coming to celebrate the civil partnership of Rhys and
Shaun. Rhys has always been special to me. He was always the younger
brother I never had. When his older brother died nearly 9 years ago, I took
on the task of being his adopted older brother. He has made me proud with
the way he has handled all the rubbish he has to deal with in his life. 2
years ago, he shocked me when he told me he had met the person he wanted to
spend the rest of his life with, but when I met Shaun, I knew he had made
the right choice. Ladies and Gentlemen, I ask you to put your glasses
together to Rhys and Shaun.
Gary stood up and said "ladies and gentlemen, 2 years ago my brother came
home to my mums and told us he was gay and had met the man of his dreams in
work at the hospital. We met Rhys a few days later, and we could see, just
like tom already said, we knew he had made the right choice. We lost our
youngest brother in an attack in Afghanistan and it was during that time
that we got to know Rhys for the special man he is. I was proud when Shaun
asked me to be his best man today, so ladies and gentlemen please raise
your glasses to Shaun and Rhys.
Rhys stood up and said "on behalf of my husband and myself, I want to thank
you all for coming today. I want to thank Tom for being there for me
through thick and thin, and Ben for all his help when Shaun's Brother
Nicholas died. I want to make a tribute to my late brother Matthew, and my
late sister Kath, and most of all, my late mother, who were my
inspiration. Shaun I love you. Also Shaun's brother Nicholas, who even
though I didn't get to know him, I know would have been here today proudly
but not just to them to others who didn't make it to be here today. So
ladies and gentlemen, please be upstanding for a toast to Absent Friends."
Rhys and Shaun were dancing and Shaun said " you know I love you so much."
Rhys smiled and said "and I love you too."
"I was thinking, I want to put a special song that Matthew my late brother
loved on. I wonder if they would have it" Rhys said.
Shaun smiled and said "what song?"
"You'll Never Walk Alone" Rhys replied.
"I hope so. Nicholas loved that song. He was a Liverpool supporter" Shaun
said.
Rhys smiled and walked over to the dj and asked if they had the song.
The dj said "sorry mate, I don't have it, but if you want, I can download
it and play in about half hour."
Rhys said "thanks."
Shortly after, the dj spoke on the microphone and said "now ladies and
gents a request from our grooms."
Tom smiled and he heard the music start.
When you walk through a storm
Hold your head up high
And don't be afraid of the dark
At the end of the storm
Is a golden sky
And the sweet silver song of the lark
Walk on through the wind
Walk on through the rain
Though your dreams be tossed and blown
Walk on walk on with hope in your heart
And you'll never walk alone
You'll never walk alone
When you walk through a storm
Hold your head up high
And don't be afraid of the dark
At the end of the storm
Is a golden sky
And the sweet silver song of the lark
Walk on through the wind
Walk on through the rain
Though your dreams be tossed and blown
Walk on walk on with hope in your heart
And you'll never walk alone
You'll never walk
You'll never walk
You'll never walk alone.
Tom led Ben onto the dance floor and joined Shaun and Rhys dancing to the
song. Gary and his wife Jayne also joined them. Harry and Lee also went up
and danced.
As the song played out, Shaun walked over to the microphone and said "we
dedicate that song to all those currently serving our country in combat and
to those recovering from injuries."
Ben walked over and Shaun whispered to him "Nicholas loved this song."
Ben smiled and said "we dedicate this song also to two people who sadly
couldn't be here today who loved this song. So ladies and gentlemen please
be upstanding for the memory of Private Matthew Taylor and Private Nicholas
Weston. To absent Friends."
Major Alex Mills was sat at a table with his wife Lisa, when his mobile
rang "Major Mills" Alex replied.
"Yes, Todd what's wrong?" Alex replied.
"Oh no, that is sad news mate. Thanks for letting me know, mate" Alex
replied.
Lisa looked at Alex and said "what's wrong?"
"It's private James Mason. He has lost his fight for life, love. He died
earlier" Alex said.
Alex stood up and walked over to Major Lewis and said "sorry Daffyd, I need
to speak to you."
Daffyd said "ok I will be back," to Bradley and left with Alex.
"I am sorry, Daffyd. I have had some bad news from the hospital. Private
James Mason has lost his fight for life" Alex said.
"Oh hell, and I thought he was getting there" said Daffyd.
"Yeah, we all thought so" Alex said.
Tom noticed Daffyd and Alex talking outside the marquee and said "I will be
back" and walked towards the men.
"What's going on?" Tom asked.
"Sorry, Tom. I didn't want to spoil the party, but I have to go. Duty
calls. Private Mason has died" Alex said.
"That is sad. He has fought though, hasn't he?" Tom said.
"Certainly has, Tom. What a waste of a young life though" Daffyd said.
"Yeah it is. So have you told Tim yet?" Tom asked.
"No, I haven't yet" Daffyd said.
"OK, I will ask him to come out now" Tom said.
"OK thanks, Tom" Daffyd replied.
Tom walked over to Tim, who was in conversation with Lee. "Hi Tim. Daffyd
wants to see you outside, mate" Tom said.
"OK, Tom" Tim said.
Tim walked outside and saw Daffyd sat on a nearby bench. He walked over and
said "you wanted to see me?"
"Yes Tim. Sit down please" Daffyd said.
"What's wrong, sir?" Tim asked.
"Alex has just been informed Private James Mason has died, mate" Daffyd
said.
"Oh fuck no. I went to see him last week and there was hope he would make
it. His poor family" Tim said.
"Yes, but as we know, Tim, we just got to move on. But I don't think I can
anymore. It's time for me to get out mate" Daffyd said.
"Yeah, you and me both, I think Daffyd. I have been thinking of getting out
for a little while now and I think now is a good time" Tim said.
Tom told Rhys what had happened and Rhys walked over to the dj and took
hold of the microphone and said "ladies and gentlemen I have just been told
that a young patient that myself and Shaun have both been looking after, a
young private from 4th company, James Weston has passed away this
morning. As you can imagine, this will be a sad tinge on the rest of the
day, but please raise your glasses to Private James Mason. May he rest in
peace."
A couple of weeks later
Major Alan Westmoor arrived at the barracks to take over command of 4th
company. Daffyd had quit the army a few days after James's death and Tim
Bonner followed him a day or so later. Colonel Tom Rees was surprised that
Daffyd had gone, but respected his decision. Tom admitted to Daffyd had he
been operational he would have thought of quitting also.
Simon Tyler had been promoted to take over from Tim and was awaiting his
new commanding officer.
"Good morning, sir and welcome to 4th company" Simon said.
"Thank you, sergeant" Alan replied.
"Can you get the men out on the parade ground please?" Alan asked.
"No problem, sir" Simon said.
Simon "called Attention" as major Westmoor walked out.
"Good morning, gentlemen. At ease, please" Alan shouted.
"I am Major Alan Westmoor and I have taken command of this unit. I know I
have big shoes to fill after Daffyd, but I hope I can keep the unit
together as well as Daffyd did. I also know that Sgt Bonner has moved on,
but I am sure Sgt Tyler here will do a good job as his predecessor did. So
guy's, normal service please. We need to prepare as we are due out in
combat in three weeks" Alan said.
Tom was looking out of his window and saw the new 4th company commanding
officer talking to his men. Tom knew Alan. He was on officer training the
same time as Tom and they got on well.
Alan didn't know Tom was based here. He was told that Major Alex Mills was
the family liaison commanding officer and had planned to meet up with him
later.
Tom saw the men were dispersing and he walked out of his office and walked
over and said "Major Westmoor, nice to see you again."
Alan looked round and said "oh Tom, what you doing here?"
"I am based here. This is HQ for the family liaison operations unit" Tom
replied.
"I knew it was the Flo barracks command, but not the HQ" Alan said.
"Well, since I have had command I based myself here" Tom said.
"So, have you met your units' flo commander, Alex Mills yet?" Tom said.
"Not yet, but I plan to meet him shortly" Alan said.
"I am glad they appointed another good major as commanding officer. I was
surprised when Daffyd announced he was leaving, but I understood" Tom said.
"Yeah, he had had enough" Alan said.
"Yeah, he had. But I will say you have a good sergeant in Simon Tyler. He
was acting sergeant when I was in temporary command last year" Tom said.
"Well that's good to know. I was thinking he was a little wet behind the
ears to be honest" Alan said.
"Yeah, he is young but so was Tim Bonner and myself when we started" Tom
said.
"Yeah, true" Alan said.
Tom left the barracks shortly after and headed home. Ben was now working at
the local hospital and was on the day shift. Tom arrived home to an empty
house and sat watching the TV when he heard the door go. Tom looked up to
see his son Jon coming through the door. Tom shouted "good day son?"
"Yes, thanks dad" Jon replied as he ran upstairs.
Tom went into the kitchen and started to prepare dinner. Jon appeared
shortly after now changed out of his school uniform.
Jon sat down and said "dad did you know that the Bonners are moving to
Scotland?"
"No, Jon. I didn't. I knew that they had moved off base because of Tim
leaving the army, but to be honest, I haven't spoken to Tim since he left"
Tom said.
"Yeah, Greg told me today they are moving to Dundee to be near to his
grandparents. His dad has got a job in some firm up there" Jon said.
"I will have to give him a ring later and wish him good luck" Tom said.
Ben arrived home a short while later.
Tom smiled and said "dinner will be ready in about 10 minutes."
"OK, just enough time for me to have a shower" Ben said.
Tom walked over and kissed Ben and said "shame Jon is here, I could have
joined you."
Ben laughed and said "yeah."
Tom finished getting dinner ready and laid the table. He then shouted "come
and get it."
Jon came running downstairs and Ben followed behind.
Tom said "oh I nearly forgot, Jon was telling me earlier that Tim and Alice
are moving to Dundee."
"Oh, why are they moving?" Ben said.
"I will ring Tim later and find out more" Tom said.
Tom went into his office and rang Tim.
"Hi mate, sorry I haven't been in touch. Been busy, so how's things?" Tom
asked.
"To be honest, Tom, things are great now. I have landed a job working for a
haulage company in Dundee, so we are getting ready to move mate" Tim said.
"That's good news, mate. Jon told me earlier that you were moving" Tom
said.
"Yeah, it will be hard leaving this area but it is time to move on" Tim
said.
"I can understand that mate, but one thing. Keep in touch, ok?" Tom said.
"I promise you that we will be in touch" Tim said.
"So, how's things at the barracks?" Tim asked.
"Well, the new commanding officer took charge of 4th company today. Major
Westmoor, he is ok. I met him when I was doing my officer training and
Simon Tyler has taken over from you, so things are starting to get back to
normal" Tom said.
"Well that's good. At least now the unit can rebuild around Major Westmoor
and Simon" Tim said.
"Yeah, but I still think you and Daffyd had a few years left in you, but I
respect your decisions" Tom said.
"I know, but the time had come to move on and to be honest, Tom I don't
think I could have faced another tour of duty out there mate" Tim said.
"Yeah I can understand that mate" Tom said.
"There is other news as well. Colonel Bradley Evans has resigned as well,
so it looks like both Brad and Daffyd are out of the army. And I heard
today that Rhydian is on his way out as well, so there some big changes
coming I reckon" Tom said.
"Yeah well Brad doesn't surprise me to be honest but Rhydian does. You have
any idea why he is going" Tim said.
"No, I heard that he decided to not to renew his commission, so I guess he
has had enough as well" Tom said.
"Wow, so there will be some changes going on. Watch out, they will have you
back on operational again" Tim said.
"Like hell mate. I would resign before that would happen" Tom said.
"Well, Tim, if there is anything you need let me know ok" Tom said.
"Will do mate" Tim said.
Tom rang off and started to push in another number.
"Hi Brad, how are you?" Tom asked.
"I am fine mate, how are you?" Brad replied.
"I am ok, but a bit surprised with the news I had today" Tom said.
"I guess you heard I resigned then?" Brad said.
"Certainly did. It was around the grapevine like wildfire" Tom said.
"Well to be honest, I decided when Daffyd quit that it was time for me to
get out as well, mate. I haven't been happy with army life since Daffyd was
injured" Brad said.
"Well, so what are you going to do now?" Tom asked.
"To be honest, Daffyd and I are going to move to Spain and maybe start a
small bar or something like that" Brad said.
"So when do you actually leave the army?" Tom asked.
"I finally finish in two weeks, but I won't be back at the barracks as I am
on leave for two weeks, so basically I am finished mate" Brad said.
"Well, why don't you and Daffyd come round for dinner tomorrow night? Maybe
I'll get Tim and Alice round as well and we can have a farewell dinner all
six of us" Tom said.
"That would be nice" Brad said.
"Oh, did you hear Rhydian has quit as well?" Tom asked.
"Yeah, I heard that. Something to do with unit changes and he wasn't happy
about some of the changes, so he quit" Brad said.
"Yeah, that's what I heard. Sounds like something big is happening, mate"
Tom said.
"Yeah, I hope your unit is safe, mate. I have heard rumblings about cuts
for a few weeks" Brad said.
"Nothing has been said to me yet, but yeah I heard a few things about unit
mergers etc." Tom said.
"OK mate, well I will see you tomorrow night mate" Tom said.
"Yeah, Tom thanks" Brad said.
Tom received a phone call a short time later calling him to hq immediately.
Tom knew this wasn't good news and left the house fearing the worst.
Tom arrived at Hq and was met by barracks commander Colonel Paul Dexter.
Tom said "what's happening?"
Paul said "no idea mate, I have been called in as well."
Paul and Tom walked into the room to see General Brian Smith and General
Neil Harris standing there.
"Good evening, gentlemen. Sorry we had to call you in but we need to brief
you on what's happening."
Ministry of defence budgets have been cut recently with the government
cuts. So we have to make several changes to make sure that we are using our
resources wisely. As a result of the defence review carried out recently,
we identified several areas where we need to make cutbacks. These cuts are
not easy to bring in but we have no choice in the matter. The first change
which will affect you is that we intend to close this base and merge it
with Coninton barracks within the next six to eight months. The units based
here will be merged into larger units based at Coninton.
Paul said "what does that mean for me?"
"You will be redeployed either at Coninton or another UK base" General
Smith replied.
"Now, for the hardest decision we have had to make. The family liaison ops
unit will be merged into a royal military police. This will of course mean
job losses at the flo sadly" General Harris said.
"Umm that will never work. Some of the work flo deals with is really
difficult and I cannot see MPs being able to do the work of my hard working
men" Tom said.
"Yes, we know that Tom, but we have no alternative but to do this. You
will, of course be redeployed" General Smith replied.
"Well I am sorry, but if the Flo is disbanded, I will go with the unit sir.
I have no intention of staying in the army if this is the way they treat
their injured soldiers and the families of their dead soldiers" Tom said.
General Smith was taken aback at Tom's reaction and said "well Tom, we hope
you will reconsider as we were hoping you would head the new unit as part
of the RmP unit"
"Well, that depends on how this new unit will function and how many men and
women I will lose sir" Tom said.
"Well at the moment, we don't have the figures but it is around about 20
redundancies we expect to make and some of them may be voluntary" General
Smith said.
"Ok, gentlemen that's all we needed to speak to you about. Thank you for
giving up your own time and hope to see you again soon" General Harris
said.
Tom walked out and went straight into his car and drove home.
Tom pulled into his drive and walked into his house and saw Ben and said
"the bastards are closing the flo."
Ben ran to his husband and hugged him and said "what? They cannot do that."
"Well, they are. It is being merged into the military police" Tom said.
"That's awful. No wonder Rhydian quit" Ben said.
"Yeah, and Bradley. And to be honest, I think I will be following them" Tom
said.
"Well, Tom you know I will support you, whatever you decide to do" Ben
said.
So what will Tom do? Will he head up the new unit or will he quit? Well
that's in part five coming soon.